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Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō
Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō (しましまとらのしまじろう, lit. "Striped Island Tiger Shimajirō") is a 1993 Japanese children's slice of life anime series primarily aimed at preschoolers, animated by Pierrot Plus. It is created and directed by veteran director Hisayuki Toriumi, who directed Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and character designs by Shigehito Tsuji. It aired at TV Setouchi and in all TXN TV networks in Japan from December 13, 1993, to March 31, 2008, becoming the 19th longest running anime in Japan from its debut to its final episode with a total of 726 episodes The series is officially based on the Kodomo Challenge Educational Learning Program created by Benesse in 1988 aimed primarily to preschoolers, which Shimajirō serves as the official mascot. The anime is listed as one of the most popular Educational Preschool shows in Japan and all around the world, with having a total of 8 seasons that continues to 3 anime sequels. It was widely popular among children, parents and adults, gaining a decent fanbase over the years. According to research done by Benesse in 2015, the series has 99.2% recognition among parents with children aged 0 to 6. Overview Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō was officially created after Benesse and TV Setouchi both decided to adapt the Learning Program series into a full-fledged series for television, with part of the staff being former Tatsunoko Production director Hisayuki Toriumi and music composer Shin'ya Naitō. It was officially animated by Studio Pierrot's sister company, Pierrot Plus and premiered on December 13, 1993. The series ended after it aired its final episode on March 31, 2008, as the second series aired, alongside the children's variety series Hakken Taiken Daisuki! Shimajirō (はっけん たいけん だいすき! しまじろう, lit. "Discover Experience Love! Shimajirō"). All of the later episodes of the series were aired in the variety series in the later years which also includes live action segments. Theme and elements The overall theme surrounding the series all revolves in Shimajirō's life as a preschooler and all the lessons he needs to learn in a daily basis such as making friends, saying sorry, making a resolve and others that reflects to the preschool demographic. Also educational elements such as planting flowers, how to use the toilet for the first time, helping others and learning in kindergarten is also applied. The anime's overall elements are all based on the Kodomo Challenge series, with the storyline being completely original from the source material. Setting The anime is officially set in the fictional Challenge Island (ちゃれんじ島 Charenji shima) located somewhere in the world. The island, inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, is suburban and very self-sufficient in resources. Various animal characters in the island vary as well as their culture such as the Mole People who live under the island or the Squirrel people who always hibernate during winter. Various means of transport as well as subways exist in the island. Aside from the animal characters, some characters such as Witches and Fairies exist in the island. Story The entire series focuses on Shimajirō Shimano, a curious tiger boy living in Challenge Island. Being the second in the family, he attends Kindergarten alongside his friends as they all discover everything around them, and learn valuable lessons as they grow up. Characters Shimajiro Shimano (縞野 しまじろう Shimano Shimajirō) Voiced by: Chisato Nakajima (First Series), Omi Minami (Current Series) The series's main protagonist, Shimajiro is a male tiger cub and the only son of Shimano family. He is a bright little boy who likes doughnuts and playing soccer. He fears thunder and ghost stories, and does not like to eat green peppers. He is very supportive to his friends and to his younger sister Hana, but can sometimes be a bit stubborn. He can be mischievous and selfish, but he always learns his lesson and is always there when his friends and little sister, Hannah (Hana in the Japanese versions), need him. Mimirin Midorihara''' (緑原 みみりん Midorihara Mimirin)/ Mimi-Lynne Voiced by: Naoko Watanabe (First Series), Miki Takahashi (Current Series)' One of Shimajiro's childhood friends, Mimirin is a white female bunny with back ear tips. Living in a family of florists, Mimirin loves cute things and strawberry shortcake as well as running and has a major crush on Shimajirō Shimano. However she has fear of insects and is never fond of carrots. Usually she also has an overbite and her tail appears out of her skirt. She can be nice but spoiled, selfish and clumsy and has a habit on crying if someone doesn't favor her opinion sometimes. Mimirin is also a good aspiring singer as well and also likes to be a princess. She was one of two characters in the series (the other being Ramurin) to not have an older sibling, but after Ramurin and Takeshi left Challenge Island as Cabrino Martinelli enlists in the Japanese elite military to fight against the Land of Make-Believe in the series finale of Shimajirō Hesoka, Mimirin became the only one. She happily attended Ramurin Makiba and Takeshi Ishida's wedding in Paris, France on Easter Sunday on April 15, 2012. However, on November 13, 2015, a dealdly attacks on Paris, France, leaves at least 130 innocent people dead. This shocked the entire world and it frightened Ramurin Makiba and her husband her age, Takeshi Ishida and their families. Ramurin and Takeshi and their families became fearful and scared for their lives and feared that ISIS may strike France again and decided to have no other choice but to permanently move back to Challenge Island, Japan for good. Shimajirō and his friends and classmates held a massive welcome home party for Ramurin and Takeshi and their families as she embraced Ramurin and Takeshi with tear of joy in their eyes. '''Torippii Sorano' (空野 とりっぴい Sorano Torippii)/Flappie Voiced by: Yūko Mita (First Series), Takumi Yamazaki (Current Series) Also one of Shimajiro's childhood friends, Torippī is a male green bird. He usually has red, blue and yellow feathers on his head and has few tail feathers on his back, as well as a loose tongue. In earlier series, he only wore a shirt, but started wearing shorts as of Shimajirō no Wow. His name in the series is always mispronounced in several promotional materials. Torippii is an aspiring singer, but is somehow tone-deaf. He usually likes Takoyaki but like Shimajiro, he is easily scared of thunder, ghost stories and lastly by ghosts. Torippī, being a bird, has an ability to fly to survey things for his friends, and also can understand non-anthropomorphic birds. He usually lives with his grandmother and parents in a treehouse and is the oldest of four siblings. Ramurin Makiba (牧場 らむりん Makiba Ramurin)[Voiced by: Chisato Nakajima (First Series, earlier Seasons), Hinako Yoshino (First Series, later Seasons), Saori Sugimoto (Current Series) Also one of Shimajiro's childhood friends and Cabrino Martinelli's closest allies, Ramurin is a pink female lamb. Unlike other sheep, she doesn't have a white face. She initially wore a bow on her head but replaced it with a bandana in later episodes. She has a massive crush on Takeshi Ishida, a human boy who is about her age and also has a huge crush on her. Her own father is a painter, and aspires her and her future husband her age Takeshi Ishida one when they grow up one day. She loves pudding, but she ahas a fear of ghosts and she is not good at running fast. She also likes both sports like Judo and Sumo. Unlike the other characters, both Ramurin and Takeshi's mentality are much higher than the rest of the main cast and usalky behave like responsible siblings. Her catch phrase is "suspious" and usually keeps her promises sometimes. Takeshi Ishida happily brought her a beautiful diamond wedding ring in February of 2012. She and Takeshi Ishida officially left Challenge Island, Japan along with their fathers during the last episode of Shimajirō Hesoka, and moved to France to achieve their goals as Cabrino Martinelli enlists in the Japanese elite military to fight against the Land of Make-Believe. As a result, she is the only character who doesn't appear in any of the movies. Ramurin and Takeshi soon got married on Easter Sunday in Paris, France on April 15, 2012 with Shimajirō Shimano and his friends and classmates, including Nyakkii Momoyama and her boyfriend her age Mitsuo Kawashima happily attending their wedding. Ramurin and Takeshi like going out on romantic dates and they have great reputation on helping each other and their families. However, on November 13, 2015, a deadly attack in Paris, France, laves at least 130 innocent civilians dead. This shocked the world and it frightened Ramurin Makiba and her husband her age, Takeshi Ishida and their families. Ramurin and Takeshi and their families became fearful for their lives and feared that ISIS may strike France again and decided to have no other choice but to permanently move back to Challenge Island, Japan for good. Shimajirō and his friends and classmates held a massive welcome home party for Ramurin and Takeshi and their families. Takeshi Ishida (石田武 Ishida Takeshi) Voiced by: Masako Nozawa. ' Also one of Shimajiro's childhood friends and Cabrino Martinelli's closest allies, Takeshi Ishida is a young boy. He has blue eyes and wears a blue T-shirt with the Earth on the front, blue pants and blue shoes and is Natsumi Ishida's brother her age. He had blue hair when he was human. He has a major crush on Ramurin Makiba, a pink female lamb who is about his age and also has a massive crush on him. His father, Akihiro Ishida is a well-experienced astronomer. He and his sister his age, Natsumi hang out with Ramurin Makiba to see Disney movies in Japanese at the Benesse Omega Cinemas. On March 25, 2012, he and Ramurin Makiba hugged and kissed each other right on the lips in the light of the full moon, becoming a sheep along with his whole family just like her and her family. '''Nyakkii Momoyama '(桃山 にゃっきい Momoyama Nyakkii') Voiced by: Saori Sugimoto First introduced in Shimajirō: A World of Wow!, Nyakkii is a pink-furred cat with a cream-colored face. She is great at sports, caring, and always stands up to bullies. Naturally, she is always up for adventure with Shimajiro and his friends. She loves climbing trees, foot racing and sports, and dreams to become an Olympic athlete one day when she grows up. She moved into Challenge Island with her grandmother, mother and her younger brother and befriended Shimajiro and the others in the second episode. Her father, however, lives separately somewhere in Challenge Island. Mitsuo Kawashima' '''(川島光男 Kawashima Mitsuo) Voiced by: Masako Nozawa. Mitsuo Kawashima is a young Japanese human boy. He has blue eyes and purple hair and wears a blue T-shirt, green pants and blue shoes and is Shizuka Kawashima's brother her age. He has a major crush on Nyakkii Momoyama. Music The official music of the series is composed by Shin'ya Naitō in the first series and by Akifumi Tada of Tenchi Muyo! GXP in the later series. The series officially has 7 Opening Songs and 7 Ending Songs. For the first series, the first opening is titled Shima Torando Island (しまとらンドアイランド Shima torando airando) by Shima Shima Kids and the second Opening is titled Skip Step Island (スキップステップアイランド Sukippu suteppu airando) by Omi Minami. The ending songs are titled Zutto Motto Daisuki (ずっともっと大好き Zutto Motto Daisuki) by Shima Shima Kids, the second ending titled Happy Jam Jam (ハッピー・ジャムジャム Happī jamu jamu) by M.S.J and the third ending is titled Nyanda Korya (にゃんだこりゃ Nyanda korya) by both Omi Minami and Bin Shimada For Hakken Taiken Daisuki! Shimajirō, the opening theme is titled Mainichi Challenger (まいにちチャレンジャー Mai ni chi charenjā, lit. Everyday Challenger) by Omi Minami, Miki Takahashi, Takumi Yamazaki and Saori Sugimoto. The ending song is titled Happy Jam Jam (ハッピー・ジャムジャム Happī jamu jamu), also by Omi Minami, Miki Takahashi, Takumi Yamazaki and Saori Sugimoto. For Shimajirō Hesoka, the first opening is titled Sora Sora ☆ Aozora (ソラソラ☆あおぞら Sora sora ☆ aozora) by Aki Toyosaki and the second opening is titled Rainbow (レインボー Reinbō) by Yusuke Kamiji. The first ending song is titled Shima Mimi to Rira mutsu (しまみみとりらむっ Shima Mimi to Rira mutsu) by Fusanosuke Kondō and the second ending theme is Happy Jam Jam (HE SO KA Version) (ハッピー・ジャムジャム （HE SO KAバージョン） Happī jamu jamu (HE SO KA bājon)) by Tomomi Ukumori For Shimajirō: A World of Wow!, the first opening is titled Bokura no hoshi no Miracle (ボクらのほしのミラクル Bokura no hoshi no mirakuru) by Daudi Joseph and the second opening is titled Shimajirō to ikou yo (しまじろうと いこうよ Shimajirō to ikou yo) by HARCO. The ending theme is titled Tomodachi no Wow! (トモダチのわお! Tomodachi no wao!) by Puffy AmiYumi. Critical reception On its first airing, Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō became TV Setouchi's most popular educational anime show in Japan and all around the world, rivaling NHK's long running Okaasan to Issho and bringing hope to all of the children across the United States of America, Mexico, Columbia, Qatar, Argentina, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The series became most popular in the Kanto Region of Japan, and became Benesse's most successful adaptation of the Kodomo Challenge series. Reruns of the episodes are broadcast on other stations such as Kids Station and TV Tokyo. Awards The latest series was also nominated in the 2016 International Emmy Awards for best animated series, alongside Ronia the Robber's Daughter. Mascot popularity The anime also made Shimajirō one of the most iconic Anime Characters in Japan for preschoolers, rivaling Anpanman in terms of ratings. On his initial release. He was widely appeared in various Kodomo Challenge products and products from other companies and sponsors. Also, Tomica and Benesse created a limited edition "Shimajiro Car" that is limitedly distributed to Kodomo Challenge members all over Japan. Japanese car company Toyota created a life-sized replica of the Tomica model, titled the "426GT Shimajirō Car " which is a Customized Toyota Estima Hybrid. In 2013, a new version of the car is released by called "426EV Shimajirō Car II", based on the Tesla Model S. Tomica released a model version of the car under the name "Dream Car Tomica Shimajiro II" on February 2014 for Kodomo Challenge members and a retail release on March 2014. In Taiwan, Shimajirō is the most popular character among children aged 0 to 6. Category:Preschool education television series Category:2010 Chinese television series debuts Category:1993 anime television series Category:Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Pierrot (company) Category:TV Tokyo shows Category:Television series with live action and animation Category:Shimajiro films Category:1988 establishments in Japan Category:1993 Japanese television series debuts Category:2008 Japanese television series endings Category:2008 Japanese television series debuts Category:2010 Japanese television series endings Category:2010 Japanese television series debuts Category:2012 Japanese television series endings Category:2012 Japanese television series debuts Category:TV shows Category:Baby Shows